Interaction

Description Online learning can cause students to miss the peer-to-peer connectiveness of the face-to-face classroom and feel isolated in their studies, which can lead to lower motivation, achievement, and retention in online classes (Angelino, Williams, & Natvig, 2007; Kanuka & Jugdev, 2006). To remedy students’ feelings of isolation, discussion forums are commonly utilized by instructors…

Although not experts in the discipline, there have been benefits in having students lead online discussions. Students may be more comfortable to participate in the discussion when it is led by an equal member of the class, rather than the instructor who is perceived as the authority (Lim, Cheung, & Hew, 2011). Questioning from an…

Asynchronous online teaching is fundamentally a communications challenge. What is gained in online learning by extending access through a Web-based LMS is offset by the loss of the immediacy and semantic richness of in-person instructional communication (Daft, R. L., & Lengel, R. H., 1986; Moore, M., 1993). In online discussion forums, students, in isolation, are…

Steering is a strategy used in interactional scaffolding of asynchronous discussion. Interactional scaffolding assumes the important role of the instructor as mediating discussion and maintaining a communicative ‘presence’ to support students to participate effectively in this mode of interaction. Interactional scaffolding involves modelling discourse and ways of communicating, and ensuring that the discussion keeps moving…

Providing feedback to students in courses is important so they understand how they are performing. However, it is equally important to gather feedback from students. Seldin (1997) stated there are two reasons to gather feedback: “first, to improve teaching performance, and second, to provide a rational and equitable basis for personnel decisions” (p. 335). Feedback…

Description Peer review has the potential to be an effective activity for students to engage in, for several reasons. Students do not rely on the sole voice of the instructor, who is an expert in the matter. Peers may be able to communicate with other peers in a way that is difficult for the instructor.…

An online protocol called “Prompt a Stand” was used in conjunction with Voicethread, a tool for having online discussions, in order to foster a debate on a topic. Protocols are “strategies for having structured communication to enhance problem-solving, encourage different perspectives, and build shared knowledge (Dichter & Zydney, 2015). The Prompt a Stand protocol asks…

Faculty are often using images and other artifacts to “chunk” content and embed them within content text to keep the interest of the learner and break-up large chunks of course materials. By using the strategy to embed questions and polling within course content, the instructor can promote student-to-content, student-to-student, and student-to-instructor interactions throughout the delivery…

Description Our language exchanges are facilitated by the Mixxer website that was developed by Todd Bryant, which provides a space and search engine to connect with language partners. More details/instructions are available.  For my beginning/intermediate Spanish language classes, students speak with their language partner first in Spanish and then for the second half of the…

Discussion boards in online courses are widely known to encourage higher-order thinking and reflection. However, text-based discussions may not be the best choice for all students or all learning outcomes. Student-created video is used increasingly in the form of video discussion boards. For example, instructors may have heard of Flipgrid, a popular video discussion software…